In tree and shrub culture generally, it is desirable to be able to lift or uproot the tree or shrub from one growth site, with an intact root ball or mass of soil packed around the roots, and to deposit the plant at a new site, e.g. in a hole prepared to receive the root ball or on the surface of the ground. In plant nurseries, moreover, the manipulation of the uprooted shrub can be a first stage in the packaging of the root ball in burlap or in a container for temporary storage, for sale or for subsequent delivery to a replanting site.
Naturally, this can be done with considerable manual labor by spading around the plant at a distance sufficient to sever the rootball from the surrounding soil. The plant can then be lifted by grasping the root neck, stalk or trunk.
Apparatus for carrying out plant uprooting is especially important in nursery applications and a variety of machines have been proposed to facilitate this work.
Until now, however, as far as I am aware, there has been no inexpensive machine capable of conveniently carrying out the necessary processes for uprooting with a minimum of manual effort and readily adaptable to existing agricultural and other tractors.